Waking up Friday I was excited because I knew we were going to be visiting Central Park, which is one of my favorite places to be on a beautiful autumn day. I was also excited because mike informed us that we would not be doing as much walking as we have been for the past two classes, so maybe I wouldn’t be as exhausted as I have been by the end of the day. I preformed my normal routine by taking the train from Wantagh to Penn Station to meet with the class. Once we were all together we got on the subway and headed for The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or simply called The Met, is the largest, most comprehensive art museum in the world. The building occupies 1.5 million square feet and its collections include more than two million objects, whose range includes the whole world and the entire sweep of human civilization (BG, 326.) our class focused mainly on the Modern Art. I found Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol to be the most interesting. Pollock is known for his abstract expressionism art. If I had to describe what this type of art work looked like I would say that if you gave a child a paintbrush covered in paint and let them run around on a canvas with it, it would come out looking like abstract expressionism. What I found interesting about Pollock is that you can tell what he was thinking and his mood by his painting. For example when he was drunk and in a rage his painting were dark colors with almost violent looking brush stokes. I was really able to feel emotions through a painting that looked like a child could have done it. That’s what I found so interesting, how something so simple could share so much. I also really enjoyed Andy Warhol’s pop art, and the whole exhibit dedicated to him. I enjoy how colorful and different his artwork is, he will take something ordinary and make it extraordinary; for example a picture of someone famous, or his Campbell’s tomato soup painting. I admire how he was afraid to be different and create this wild and trippy eye-catching artwork. My favorite part was the balloon room, where the balloons would slowly fall and you were able to hit them back up in the air. Mike told us this took place at some of the parties Andy had, I can only imagine how many people were on drugs during that time.
After we finished up with the modern art we were allowed to explore a part of the museum we desired, so I chose to look at the arms and armor exhibit. The collection of arms and armor contains weapons that range from simple arrowheads to elaborate ceremonial jewel-encrusted swords. The collection includes European, Japanese, and Islamic armor (BG, 341.) I really enjoyed seeing how detailed and beautiful some of this armor was and how crazy it is to think that people actually wore this to protect themselves when really in sure the armor is quite heavy and not very easy to move around in. the coolest piece was the Equestrian Court, where fully armed and armored man and their horses “parade” beneath colorful banners (BG, 341.) this piece looked like something out of a movie that takes place during medieval times. Although I have been to The Met before it was still a new experience for me seeing the modern art, and I really enjoyed it. After The Met we were off to explore central park and all the beauty it holds.
Central Park is the heartland of Manhattan, 843 acres set aside for the recreation of New Yorkers and visitors alike. Activities in the park include; bicycling, boating, carousel, carriage rides, ice-skating, and swimming (BG, 279-280.) the park also includes a zoo, beautiful statues and landmarks. Soon after entering the park we found the 11-foot tall bronze Alice in Wonderland statue. Created by Jose de Creeft, Alice sits on a giant mushroom, surrounded by the Mad Hatter, the Dormouse, the Cheshire Cat, and the March Hare (BG, 292.) This was exciting for me because even though I have been to the park a few times I was never able to find this statue. Walking through the park on this beautiful day I could feel the positive energy from all around. I love being outdoors so I enjoyed seeing children playing on the playground and people walking around with their dogs just enjoying the day. Our next stop was to the boat pond, which I never realized was used in the movie Stewart Little. The scenery was very peaceful, some ducks were swimming in the pond and boats were being steered. After the boat pond we made our way to the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain. The angel on top of the fountain is known as
the Angel of the Waters. This area was crowded with people taking pictures and just hanging out. We were also able to get a view of the lake where many people had rented rowboats. Something that caught my eye was a woman playing the harp by the lake for money. I find it pretty uncommon for someone to be playing the harp because it is a very big and heavy instrument, but the sound of the harp was very pretty and added to the scenery around it. After the lake we made our way to Strawberry Fields, the 2.5-acre near Central Park West and 72nd street in honor of John Lennon who was assassinated in the courtyard of the nearby Dakota Apartments in 1980. The site is now one of the most popular destinations for visitors, a shrine where fans from all over the world leave flowers and other tokens of remembrance (BG, 792.) lucky for our class it was international peace day on Friday so we were able to watch a tea ceremony being preformed. I think it’s beautiful how the shrine is decorated with all flowers. The site is a peaceful spot where someone could go to just clear their head and think. After our tour of central park the class split up for lunch I decided to go to Dallas BBQ where I had a delicious chicken BBQ sandwich.
After lunch we stopped by The Plaza Hotel, which I know of because one of my favorite movies, Home Alone 2. The hotel is as famous for its guest as for its site-with views of Central Park and Fifth Avenue- its architecture and its luxury (BG, 273.) even through we quickly walked through the hotel I could see how beautiful it was and how expensive it looked. After The Plaza we stopped into F.A.O Schwartz, which is a huge toy store. This store has anything a child could ever want ranging from dolls, toys, stuffed animals; they also have a whole candy section, it is like a child’s heaven. Personally I enjoyed the huge stuffed animals; I would love one for myself, but I’m not willing to pay 1,200 dollars for it.
After F.A.O Schwartz we continued down Fifth Avenue, home to the finest jewelry, clothing, and accessory stores, such as Tiffany’s, Fendi, Gucci, and Saks Fifth Avenue. These stores are all to rich for my blood, but it is nice to think about one day being able to afford the items in these stores especially for a shopaholic like myself. Breezing down Fifth Ave we did stop in Grand Central Terminal which is much more beautiful then Penn Station. I really enjoy the Ceiling that was decorated with constellations of the zodiac, it was crazy to that that was once covered in dirt and filth and that people actually used toothbrushes to clean it. Mike told us how they were trying to redo Penn so it looks more like Grand central. Our final stop was to the N.Y Public Library. Unfortunately we arrived just when the library was closing so we were not able to go inside. Even though I have never been inside, I have seen a depiction of the inside from the movie The Day After Tomorrow.
a better idea. We went shopping at Forever 21, which includes four floors of fun. I had a great time
exploring the Eastside, definitely one of my favorite classes.
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